Edmond’s Journey through the Threshold
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas is about a young nineteen year old boy who is arrested the day of his wedding, and without ceremony, he is sentenced to lifelong solitary confinement. Similar to many other novels the young nineteen year old faces a typical hero’s journey throughout the story. These steps are presented as the call, the threshold, the initiation, the abyss, the revelation, the transformation, the atonement, and finally the return. This essay is about the second step in the hero’s journey the threshold which begins the moment Edmond arrives at the Chateau d’If.
For starters, Edmond has no idea why he has been imprisoned. For example Edmond says “What do you want of me? You arrest me? Said Dantes, why I pray?” (Pg. 22). That quote shows that when Edmond finds out he is being arrested he has no idea why he is being arrested until later on when Abbe Faria helps him figure it out. Edmond is being arrested with charges of treason because he is carrying a note from Napoleon; unfortunately since Edmond cannot read or write, he believes it is innocent when Napoleon gives it to him to deliver. This shows that Edmond did not know what he did wrong and is innocent. All of this shows that Edmond’s step from the call to the threshold impacted his hero’s journey.
The threshold is made up of two stages these are the guardian and their job. In The Count of Monte Cristo Edmond’s guardian is Abbe Faria. Abbe’s role is to help Edmond’s journey by being a guardian and a teacher. When Edmond first confronts Abbe, he is overwhelmed since he has not had a companion for years. This quote shows this, “Dantes threw himself into the arms of his new friend for whom he had waited impatiently and so long…” (Pg. 67). This quote also shows that during Edmond’s years in prison he has become more emotional. In addition, this shows why Edmond entered the abyss stage when Abbe dies. The second stage of the...